Halo: Gamma Spartan
by Hulkfan96
Summary: Hulk gets sucked into a conflict with the UNSC and the hateful Covenant. Will he be the UNSC's ally or adversary?
1. An Unlikely Savior

- **Earth 616** -

Hulk, along with other heroes, respond to a distress signal to a construction site that is under attack by the Juggernaut and the Abomination.

"I hate construction sites!" Juggernaut yells as he charges towards a building that's being renovated. Upon running through the building, the two villains come face to face with Hulk, Thor, and Captain America.

"Too many damn heroes around here..." Juggernaut mumbles. "It ain't fair!"

"You pathetic excuses of men should know that you have no right to destroy these buildings." Captain America sternly says.

"So? Nobody's living in them. Besides, they're just gonna get taken apart anyway." Abomination smugly says.

" **You ever get tired of listening to your own voice** , **fish lips**?" Hulk remarks.

"Fish lips?!" Abomination hollers out in response, to which Hulk nods in agreement. "You're dead, you overly muscular leprechaun!"

Hulk rolls his eyes as he locks fists with Abomination before kneeing him in the gut and flinging him across the street.

"What is that ridiculous contraption on your head?" Thor asks Juggernaut, pointing to the behemoth's helmet.

"That is my helmet, Goldilocks!" He replies angrily before swinging his right arm at Thor, but he swiftly dodges his attack and hits Juggernaut hard with his hammer, sending the large man flying into an abandoned building, which then collapses on top of him. Thor smugly smiles, only for the collapsed building to mildly shift in place. Before Thor knew it, Juggernaut charged out from under the rubble, grabbed Thor, and practically steamrolled through several more buildings while still holding Thor before violently slamming him into the ground and begins to whale on him with his SUV sized fists. After a few dozen blows, Thor's entire body starts surging with electricity before releasing all that energy in a single punch, knocking Juggernaut out cold.

While that was going on, Hulk and Abomination keep trading blows, causing nearby buildings to shake as a result of their unmatched strength.

"I will kill you, then I'll be the strongest one there is!" Abomination taunts as he performs a series of quick jabs to Hulk's stomach and chest. However, Hulk became so enraged at the idea of Abomination being stronger than him that his attacks barely fazed him, and he looked at his foe with a grin.

"My turn, fish breath!" Hulk says as he punches Abomination in the chest hard, making him grip his chest in pain as he pulls out a strange device and throws it at Hulk. After a few seconds, the device opens a portal with an abnormally strong pull. Hulk is immediately sucked into it and once inside, Abomination crushes the device with his foot, making the portal seal shut.

* * *

- **Planet Heian** -

A Spartan-II and three ODST's are situated in a cave overlooking a large city ruin of unknown origin. A Covenant drop ship lands in front of a building and out of the ship exits an elderly Covenant Prophet in a hoverchair.

As this occurs, Hulk begins falling to the planet's surface, roaring in frustration as his body burns up in the atmosphere. Upon landing, the planet shakes violently, startling the ODST's.

"What the hell was that?" The shortest of the ODST's asks, amazed by how violent that impact tremor was, though the Spartan paid no mind to it and the other two ODST's shrugged it off as nothing.

Not far from the Spartan and ODST's position, Hulk slowly rose from a massive impact crater and shook some dirt out of his hair. " **Ouch**. **That hurt**... **a little**. **Well** , **I'm clearly not on Earth anymore**. **So...where am I** , **exactly**?" Hulk asked himself as he started walking before noticing a somewhat disoriented Brute Chieftain walking up a flight of large stairs leading up to where the Spartan and its team was stationed.

Hulk slowly followed the large alien, who roared in anger as it charges towards the Spartan and flings the super soldier into a wall. However, only to be interrupted by Hulk.

" **Hey** , **ugly**. **Pick on someone your own size**." Hulk says with a grin as he cracks his knuckles.

The ODST's gasp in horror at the sight of Hulk while the Brute Chieftain shrugs as it charges at his new challenger, raising his massive Gravity Hammer and swinging downward, only for Hulk to catch it at the head. Hulk then hits the Brute Chieftain with a vicious punch to the left side of his face, shattering his combat helmet.

" **Not so tough now**..." Hulk taunts as he yanks the Gravity Hammer from the Brute's hands, knocks him down and proceeds to savagely smash his head in repeatedly.

"Okay, okay! Stop! You got him! He's dead!" One of the ODST's says in protest.

Hulk eventually stops upon realizing that the Brute isn't moving at all. " **Sorry**. **Got carried away** , **I guess**."

The small ODST then approaches the Spartan, noticing that the large person isn't breathing that much. "The Spartan's knocked out!" He then remembers their mission: To assassinate a Covenant Prophet. The ODST quickly raises his sniper rifle and aims it at the Prophet's head and pulls the trigger. Seconds after that, the Prophet lets out a loud groan as the bullet flies through its head, killing him pretty much instantly.

Back to more pressing matters, Hulk lifts the Spartan up and carries the super soldier to a UNSC dropship, which then lifted off, taking Hulk, the unconscious Spartan, and the ODST's off of the planet.

"So...what's your story?" One of the ODST's asks Hulk, breaking the awkward silence as the Spartan is laid out on a medical gurney.

" **Not now** , **puny human**." Hulk rudely responds, looking at the floor. He wasn't in the mood for questions, given what just happened.

"We'll ask him again when we get back to the ship." Another one of the ODST's whispers as the dropship approaches a large destroyer ship.


	2. First Impressions Matter

- **UNSC Destroyer DD-993** -

The dropship carrying Hulk, the ODST's, and the unconscious Spartan-II lands in the hangar of the large ship. Hulk and the small men stand up as Hulk carries the Spartan bridal style out of the dropship, only for several Marines to holler in surprise before aiming their weapons at Hulk, who growls at them like an angry animal. Before things can escalate, the ODST's stand in front of Hulk in an effort to shield him.

"What the hell are you boys doing?! Get out of our line of fire!" One Marine shouts.

"Don't shoot! He saved our lives on Heian! From a Brute!" The tallest of the ODST's, Dutch, says in an attempt to keep the situation from getting worse.

"Why should we believe that?" Another Marine asks.

"Because he is holding a wounded Spartan. He is here as an ally, not an enemy." Dutch answers. "Besides, if he steps out of line, we will take full responsibility."

The Marines sigh as they lower their weapons and allow Hulk to walk past them as he carries the unconscious Spartan to medbay, laying her on a hospital bed. The doctors, upon reacting to seeing Hulk, take off the Spartan's helmet, revealing a beautiful woman with blond hair. Needless to say, the ODST's were shocked to find out that the Spartan that aided them in killing the Prophet was a woman this whole time.

The doctors inspect the unconscious Spartan woman. "She's alive. Minor concussion caused by blunt force trauma at most. Give her a little time, and she'll be up on her feet before you know it." One of them says to Hulk and the ODST's.

"Thank you." Dutch says as the ODST's leave, though Hulk stays in the room to watch over the Spartan.

" **What's her name**?" Hulk asks one of the doctors, who slowly looks up at the large being.

"S-Sorry, but I'm not really authorized to divulge any information regarding a Spartan." He fearfully answers.

" **Hmmm**... **whatever**. **I'm tired**." Hulk says as he rubs his eyes.

"T-There's a spare bedroom down the hall. We'll let you know if she wakes up." The doctor nervously says, avoiding eye contact with him. Hulk nods, looking at the Spartan one last time before walking out of medbay and entering an empty bedroom. It had a large bed, a TV, and a couch. Nothing too fancy, but at least he'd be comfortable. Hulk looks out the window, observing all the stars before laying down on the bed and falling asleep, inadvertently turning back into Bruce Banner.

* * *

- **The Next Day** -

The next day, Bruce wakes up to the smell of meat, eggs and all sorts of food. Bruce looks through the closet, finding a uniform that's a perfect fit for him. He takes a deep breath before leaving the room. The smell got stronger as he walks down several long hallways, eventually coming across a door with a sign above it marked, "Mess Hall."

* * *

- **Mess Hall** -

Bruce enters a large cafeteria, where dozens of Marines eat tasty food to get their strength up for the day. Bruce grabs a tray as pieces of ham, eggs, and bacon are put on his tray. He grabs a glass of milk and sits alone at a corner booth that has a view of space. As he begins eating, the ODST's that Hulk encountered on Heian sit with him.

"Sorry. Um, do you want me to move?" Bruce asks.

"No, man. We want to talk to you." Dutch says as he eats a piece of bacon. "We saw the surveillance tapes on your room. Saw that thing turn into a person. That...whatever it is. You're the creature that saved that Spartan."

Bruce starts panicking. They knew that he and Hulk were one and the same. "Um..." Bruce stuttered.

"How is it possible?" O'Brien, the shortest of the ODST's, asks.

Bruce exhales deeply. "I was...involved in an accident. Gamma bomb test. I was trying to save a kid's life. I got him to safety, but...the bomb went off, and I was hit with the full force of the radiation." Bruce says solemnly, looking down at his tray. "A few hours later, I woke up in a bunker and transformed into...what you saw."

Needless to say, the ODST's were amazed by what they heard. "Whoa..." They all said in unison.

"Yeah." Bruce says as he starts eating.

"Why did he save us from that Brute?" Dutch asks. "He could've let that Gravity Hammer squash us into the ground, but he interfered, saved us all. Why?"

Bruce sighs. "Because Hulk is a hero. If a situation gets his attention, he'll get involved."

"Hulk? That's his name?" Dutch asks as he takes a swig of milk.

Bruce nods. "Yeah. And he's all about being the 'strongest guy out there'. So...be careful what you say around him." He warns.

"Noted." O'Brien says with a nervous gulp. Soon after, Bruce and the ODST's finish their food, but continue talking.

"So...this Hulk fellow...does he always go around saving people?" Dutch asks.

"Well...Yeah." Bruce says. "From where I come from, Hulk is one of the most well known heroes on Earth.

"Wait. What do you mean, 'from where you come from?' What, are you from another universe or something?" O'Brien asks.

Bruce nods in answer. "Yeah. I am. And I have _no_ idea how I got here. Anyway, I'm sure you guys have more questions about the Hulk."

"Yeah. Um...are there others like you on your...Earth or whatever?" Dutch asks.

"Yeah. The Hulk has even had his fair share of enemies."

"Ha! Anyone who's stupid enough to go against the big guy must have a death wish!" Dutch exclaims, surprised that Hulk has enemies. "Who has Hulk fought against?"

Bruce sighs. "Juggernaut. He's this really big guy in armor that got his powers from a magical ruby. Hulk has beaten him into the ground pretty much every time they fought."

"Wait." O'Brien says abruptly, holding his hands up in disbelief. "This guy got...superpowers from a magic ruby?"

Bruce shrugs his shoulders and nods. "Yeah. Anyway, Hulk and Juggernaut fought many times. Every time it got ugly. Then there's Sentry. Basically a super powerful man with electrical powers that can match the Hulk's power."

The ODST's listened to Bruce's amazing stories about his fights with other heroes and villains. Needless to say, they were amazed by Bruce's descriptions of Hulk's unbridled might and unbeatable strength and couldn't wait to see him in action.

* * *

- **Later** -

Bruce returns to his room and sighs as he looks out the window, unaware that that someone else was in the room.

"Hey." A gentle, innocent voice softly said.

"Ah!" Bruce jolted in surprise as he spun around, seeing the Spartan woman he saved, only she wasn't in her armor. She was now in a grey tank top and black sweatpants, sitting back comfortably on the couch. "What are you doing here?" He asked accusingly.

"Sorry about the intrusion, but I wanted to thank you. You saved my life on Heian."

The woman says as she slowly stands up off of the couch.

"H-How do you know it was me that saved you?" Bruce asks as he slowly backs away from the amazingly beautiful woman.

"The ODST's that were with me. They told me as soon as I woke up." The woman replies as she walks towards him. "Although..." She adds in a seductive voice. "I want to thank the other guy."

"Y-Y-You mean-?" Bruce stutters.

The woman nods with a light smile. "Yes. I want to thank him in person."

Bruce sighs as he slowly transforms into Hulk. He happens to be roughly the same size as her.

"Hi." She says.

" **Rrr**... **Hi**." Hulk replies as he nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"You remember me?" She asks innocently as she stands mere inches from him.

" **I**... **I saved you**." Hulk says.

She nods and holds his hand. "Yes. You did. I can't thank you enough...Hulk."

" **You know my name**?" Hulk asks in surprise.

"Yeah. Heh. T-The, uh, ODST's told me." The woman replies. She can't believe she just stuttered. Why did she stutter when questioned by him?

" **Hmmm**. **What's your name**?"

"Cal-141." She answers.

Hulk raises an eyebrow. " **What**?"

"Sorry. Heh. It's Callista. My real name is Callista." She says sweetly.

Hulk loved that name. His heart swooned at the sound of her name being said. " **Callista**. **That's a pretty name**."

Callista blushes at his response. "T-Thank you..." She softly says as she looks into his green eyes while he does the same, looking at her golden eyes.

Hulk couldn't stop looking into Callista's eyes. They were beautiful, like the rest of her, and Hulk felt so happy just looking at her, let alone being in the same room as her.


	3. Suffering A Monster's Wrath

- **Bruce's Room** -

Bruce Banner sleeps in his comfortable bed, smiling as he slumbers, remembering Hulk and Callista's short but sweet conversation. Bruce didn't know Callista that much, but felt he could trust her, as Hulk trusted her, though Bruce had suspicions that Hulk probably liked her as more than a friend... He soon bolts upwards and looks out the window and looks at a blue digital clock that reads 4:33 A.M.

"Oh." Bruce says in response to the time shortly before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

* * *

- **Later** -

Bruce wakes up again, properly rested this time. He gets dressed and heads to the mess hall, grabbing a tray and having eggs, oatmeal, bacon and sausage for breakfast. He sees the ODST's sitting at their table, who wave at him and motion for him to join them, which he does so without having to think twice about it.

"Hey, Bruce. How'd you sleep?" O'Brien asks as he eats some toast, chewing noisily.

"I slept...pretty good." Bruce says, slightly remembering that he woke up unexpectedly the previous night. He scans his eyes around the mess hall in search of Callista, but doesn't see her. "Um, where's Callista?" He asks Dutch.

"Oh, she doesn't eat in here with us. Guess the others don't like the big strong ones, know what I mean?" Dutch jokingly answers.

Bruce nods, aware that Dutch is referring to Hulk. "Yeah. I, uh...know what you mean."

"Anyway, speaking of the big guy..." O'Brien interjects. "Any chance we'll get to have a chat with him?"

Bruce shrugs as he eats his breakfast. "I guess. I mean, he did save your lives. Plus, you stood up for him when those guys pointed their guns at him."

"Wait." Dutch speaks up. "How do you know what we did?"

"Me and the Hulk...we have the same memories. So, anything he experiences...I remember it when I emerge. The same applies when I...turn, so to speak." Bruce says, his mouth full of eggs.

The moment is interrupted as Callista struts into the mess hall. Like before, she's wearing a tank top and sweatpants. She sits at the ODST's table with oatmeal and toast as her breakfast.

"Hello, boys." Callista says casually, acknowledging Bruce and the ODST's, who were puzzled at Callista being in the mess hall.

"Hey, Cal." Dutch says awkwardly before taking a sip of milk from his cup.

"Hello." Bruce says to Callista, who locks eyes with him.

"Hmmm...your eyes are different from the big guy." Callista says as she looks at Bruce's eyes, inspecting them for similarities to Hulk's eyes.

"Different? D-Different how?" Bruce stammers as he asks.

"Yours are wide, full of anxiety and nervousness. The big guy's eyes are focused, intense...and somewhat hypnotic." Callista says as if she was in a trance.

Bruce chuckles nervously as he eats.

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Briefing Room**

Bruce, the ODST's, and Callista meet the majority of the crew in a large room. A man with a shaved head enters and stands in front of everyone.

"Alright. Listen up. There's an outpost on a Covenant controlled planet. Several humans are being held hostage there. Your mission is clear: to infiltrate the outpost, assess the situation, and clear a path for the hostages so they can be extracted via Pelican. I expect all of those hostages...and all of you fine men, to be on it when it lifts off. Nobody gets left behind. We head for the planet at 0600. That'll be all, troopers."

When the majority of the troops leave, Bruce sighs as he looks at Callista and the ODST's. "A rescue/combat mission. Sounds serious."

"Yeah, but it could be fun. Maybe the big guy will come out to play." Dutch says, obviously hoping that Hulk will help them at some point on the mission.

Bruce silently shudders to himself. He knew Hulk wouldn't hurt his new friends and would be a very reliable ally to the UNSC, but he still wasn't willing to risk Hulk losing control and killing someone, especially Callista.

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Bruce's Room**

Sometime after, Bruce returns to his room, only to see Callista, still in her casual attire, sitting on his bed, her legs crossed in a seductive manner as she looked at him with a sweet smile.

"Hello, Bruce." She says softly as the door slides shut behind Bruce. He was now 'trapped' in the room with her.

"Callista. H-Hello. Um, what are you doing here?" Bruce stuttered nervously at the beautiful Spartan.

"I thought you'd want to spend some time with me before the mission. Or, to be more accurate, me and the big man." Callista says as she props herself on the bed with her elbows.

Bruce chuckles nervously as he joins her on the bed. "Why do you want to spend so much time with the Hulk?"

"Because I owe him my life. I would've died on Heian if it wasn't for him, Bruce. He could've just let that Brute's Gravity Hammer crush my head, but he didn't. Doesn't that tell you that Hulk isn't a monster?" Callista couldn't explain it, but she felt...admiration for the jade giant. She didn't know if Hulk felt the same, but she intended to find out. "So...Bruce, could he spare a moment to talk? Please?" She asks, giving him her version of the sad puppy face. Needless to say, he couldn't resist.

Bruce sighs in submission as he gets off the bed, looks at her and slowly transforms. Moments later, Hulk stood in Bruce's place and looked at Callista with a smile.

"Hey, big guy. I missed you." Callista says softly as she taps an empty spot on the bed for him to sit down next to her as Hulk made a sound that was the equivalent of a chuckle as he sits next to her.

" **Hello again, blondie**." Hulk says with a light smile as he looks at her, taking in her almost exotic, beautiful appearance. He looks into her eyes, practically falling into a trance as the same happens to her.

Callista couldn't understand what she felt whenever they were alone. Whatever it was...it drove her crazy. "Hulk..." She tries to say, but is unsure of how he will react.

" **Hmmm**?" Hulk asks as he continues to look at Callista.

"I was wondering...if you were planning on going on the mission with us?" Callista mentally facepalms herself. She wanted to confess her feelings to him, but she felt it'd be an inappropriate time to do so.

" **Mmm**... **Not really planning to stay on this boring ship while you have all the fun**." Hulk says in a mumbling tone.

Callista chuckles lightly at his answer. "Yeah, I, uh...I knew you'd say that. Like hell am I leaving you here. The planet we're going to is filled to the brim with Covenant. We're gonna need your strength to even the odds, buddy."

Hulk grins. " **This'll be fun**."

"Look. Just...be careful. Okay?" Callista asks. Hulk nods in answer.

" **I'm always careful**." Hulk says as Callista gets off the bed and looks at Hulk.

"Well, I'm off to bed. Need to rest for the mission tomorrow. You should too."

Hulk nods as he gets up as well and hugs her gently. " **Good night, Callista**."

"Good night, Hulk. Sleep tight." Callista says sweetly as she leaves the room and heads to her own room and lays down in her bed, swiftly falling asleep while Hulk does the same, turning back into Bruce as soon as he falls asleep.

* * *

- **The Next Day** -

 **0600 Hours**

Bruce wakes up to the sound of stomping feet running through the hall and an announcement stating the Pelican in now loading up. Bruce rushes to get dressed, as Hulk ripped his shirt, though his pants survived, due to them being made out of a fabric that stretches whenever he transforms. As soon as he puts a shirt and a pair of boots on, he joins the UNSC troops as well as the ODST's and Callista, who line up outside the Pelican. After their commanding officer gives a speech, everyone enters the aircraft and sits down, though the commanding officer pulls Bruce aside.

"That monster or whatever he is...he better know whose side he's on now."

"Sir, I will do my best to keep him in check, but I make no promises." Bruce says nervously.

"Get in the Pelican." The commanding officer says. Bruce nods as he does so, conveniently sitting next to Callista, who hides a smile from the others. Soon after, the Pelican launches from the ship, heading towards the planet.

* * *

- **Covenant Controlled Planet** -

 **Abandoned Refinery**

A large refinery has been overrun by a joint Covenant-Brute alliance. Several people are forced to sit in a circle as an Elite notices the Pelican dropship. That same Elite yells into a communication device as several Banshees soar through the air and fire on the Pelican.

"Everybody out! Out, out, out!" The commanding officer yells as the Pelican sustains multiple hits. The troops and ODST's leap out and open fire on the Covenant, downing many Grunts and Brutes within seconds, though several troops were killed by Elites as well as a few Brute Chieftains, swinging their Energy Swords and Gravity Hammers, respectively.

Cut to the damaged Pelican, which spins out of control and crashes. Bruce and Callista grunt in response to the impact as they rush to undo their harnesses and exit the Pelican wreckage. Immediately springing into action, Callista fires her assault rifle at several unshielded Elites while Bruce takes cover behind a crashed Banshee. Moments later, as she keeps firing, an Elite strikes Callista across her stomach with its Energy Sword, striking a nerve in Bruce upon seeing his beloved friend get hurt. The veins in his forehead bulge as his eyes turn into their more recognizable shade of bright green as he transforms, roaring in rage as he strikes the attacking Elite with a devastating right punch, shattering its shield and killing it instantly.

"Yeah!" Dutch yells in celebration upon seeing Hulk emerge.

"Oh, you guys are so screwed!" O'Brian exclaims as he executes an Elite with his SMG's.

Hulk roars once more as he charges towards the Covenant, kicking Grunts into the stratosphere, hurling Elites absurdly far distances, and beating the Brute Chieftains to death with his bare hands and their own Gravity Hammers. " **Hulk is strongest one there is**!" He yells loudly, his face aimed at the sky.

Callista smiles behind her helm as she leans against a large rock, her hand covering her stomach wound. After killing a majority of the enemy forces, Hulk rushes over to the wounded Spartan.

" **Callista**!" Hulk says urgently as he kneels down to look at her wound.

"I-I'm fine. It's, urgh...just a scratch." Callista lies, obviously too injured to continue fighting.

" **You're bleeding**!" Hulk argues.

"Hulk..." Callista tries to talk, only to be interrupted by Dutch, who walks over and kneels down.

"No, the big man is right. That injury is too severe. You have to sit the mission out, miss." Dutch says in a unusually polite manner for an ODST.

"Yeah. Besides, it looks like we're not finished yet." O'Brian adds, pointing out more Elites and Brute Chieftains heading their way. Hulk's eyes dart in the direction of the approaching army.

" **Leave it to me**." Hulk says in a growly tone as he slowly walks towards the Elites and Brutes.

"Hulk, no! They'll kill you!" Callista beckons Hulk to stop what he's about to do, but he doesn't listen.

" **Hulk smash**!" He roars out as he leaps 12 feet into the air and slams his massive fists onto the ground, sending unnaturally powerful tremors through the planet, taking out a great majority of his enemies.

"Wow...!" Callista exclaims, beyond impressed by Hulk's vastly superior strength. This soured however, as an Elite quickly fires a Needler at Hulk, embedding several of its ammunition into Hulk's chest.

" **Arrgghh**!" Hulk roars in pain as he swiftly pulls the crystal-like objects out of his body and crushes the Elite's head with a mere squeeze before he can get another shot off. Hulk turns around, the area clear of Covenant. Much to the survivors' shock, the wounds he sustained healed instantly.

"You-You j-just..." Callista stutters, still taking in Hulk's ability to heal.

"He healed. Within just a few seconds..." Dutch adds.

" **Yeah** , **I heal quickly**. **Now, what do you say we get those people over there out of here before more of those stupid aliens show up?** " Hulk asks, directing the others' attention to the hostages, who are quivering in fear at what just occurred before them.

Dutch nods as he motions the civilians over as he pulls out a small radio. "Pelican 2, this is Dutch of the ODST Helljumper group. Our primary Pelican is down and we got wounded in desperate need of evac and medical attention. Get here ASAP. Over."

After a few seconds, a receiver responds to Dutch's report. "Okay. Understood. Pelican 2 is inbound. ETA, 2 minutes. Over and out."

Dutch nods as he puts his radio away. "Two minutes, and we're outta here."

* * *

- **2 Minutes Later** -

A new Pelican lands a few feet away as Hulk carries the wounded Callista in his arms and puts her on a gurney placed in the Pelican. Hulk taps her shoulder as he rushes out to help the civilians onboard along with wounded troops. Once everyone is onboard, the back door of the Pelican closes as everyone sits down. The Pelican soon lifts off and leaves the planet and heads back to the Destroyer.


	4. Filling the Void

- **UNSC Destroyer DD-993** -

The Pelican lands in the hangar bay as several troops stand outside. The back door opens up, revealing Hulk as he carries the wounded Cal-141 in his arms, blood slowly pouring out of her stomach wound. The commanding officer eyes up Hulk, still unsure if he can trust the jade giant.

"Take her to medbay. O'Brian, show him where it is." The commanding officer says. O'Brian nods as he motions Hulk to follow him, which he does without saying another word.

"Sir? What about the civilians?" A soldier asks the CO.

"Take them to a colonized planet that's under our protection." He responds as Hulk and O'Brian disappear from view.

* * *

- **Medbay** -

Hulk carries Callista into the medical center and slowly lays her on a bed, looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Cal-141 again?" The medical examiner asks, to which Hulk nods with a slight grunt. "Second time in a row." He says as he examines her wound. "Well, the good news is, she'll recover...once her accelerated healing kicks in."

"What about the bad news?" O'Brian asks.

"She'll have to remain here until she's recovered enough to walk. I'd say about...four days, if not more than that."

Hulk hated that Callista would be in there for multiple days, but if it was the only way for her to recover, he'd just have to deal with it. " **Can I have a moment with her**? **Alone**?" Hulk asks, motioning O'Brian to leave for a bit, which he did without question.

Callista groans as she repositions herself on the bed to look at Hulk. "Hey..." She says softly.

" **Hey**." Hulk says back as he touches her arm, sending shivers of excitement through her body.

"Thanks for saving me...again. Hehe." Callista jokes with a light chuckle as she puts her other hand on top of his oversized hand.

" **No problem**. **You'd do the same for me**." Hulk says with a light smile.

"Yeah. Heh. You're right." Callista looks down before looking back up at him. "Hulk?" Callista asks, wanting to tell Hulk how she feels about him, but chickens out again.

Hulk looks at her. " **Yeah**?" He asks as he stares into her alluring eyes once again. It was becoming a habit of his.

After a few seconds, Callista smiles. "Nothing. Doesn't matter right now. I'm just glad that we get to be so close all the time."

Hulk smiles as well. " **Me too**. **Get some rest**. **When you can move again** , **you know where to find me**."

Callista chuckles. "I sure do, big guy." She waves goodbye as Hulk leaves.

* * *

- **Mess Hall** -

Hulk enters the mess hall as everyone involved in the mission eats. For a while, everyone goes silent as the gamma goliath enters, but they adjust. Hulk grabs a tray and fills it with slices of ham, some eggs, baked beans, bacon, and corn. After grabbing a thermos and filling it with milk, he sits with his fellow ODST's.

"Hulk! Hey, there's the hero!" Dutch says happily as he pats him on the back. "Wow! Your skin is denser than this ship's hull!" He exclaims as his hand becomes sore after merely patting Hulk's back.

Hulk chuckles as he starts eating, while the ODST's chatter about Hulk's strength and debating if he's stronger than Callista.

After several minutes, the mess hall was devoid of noise again, except it wasn't due to Hulk's prescence. Hulk turned around and saw a stunning woman dressed in casual clothing. Hulk's eyes widened ever so slightly once they saw the woman. This woman had a tanned complexion, dark brown hair that was curled, and an oval face with stunning facial features, such as deep brown eyes and an angelic face. Like Callista, she too had a slim figure.

" **Who's she**?" Hulk asked, unable to take his eyes off the woman as she sat at a long table with a small group of soldiers.

"That's Katrina Striker. She's an ODST like us, but...she's not really a people person." Dutch says.

" **Why not**? **What happened**?" Hulk finally looked away from the stunning Katrina as he now looked at Dutch as he asked this.

"Rumor has it...she had a girlfriend. One day, Katrina walked in on her screwing another girl. Katrina ran off in tears before she could even try to explain." Dutch says solemnly, obviously feeling bad for Katrina.

Hulk was genuinely sad for Katrina. " **When did this happen**?"

Dutch sighs in a sad manner. "At least 20 years ago, big green."

" **Wow**. **That's a long time to have a broken heart**." Hulk says in response as he focuses his attention on Katrina again, who doesn't even notice.

* * *

- **Later** -

Once everyone had finished eating, they all headed for their rooms to rest. As Hulk left, he was being watched by Katrina, who smiled mischievously as he left to return to his room. After 20 years of being sad, she decided to do something to fill that void as she followed Hulk to his room.

* * *

- **Bruce's Room** -

As Hulk entered his room, he heard a knock. As he opened it, there stood Katrina, who smiles at him.

"Hey there, stranger." She says in a seductive manner. "From what I hear, you're quite the hero. Saved all those people."

" **I wouldn't say hero** , **but**... **you could say that**." Hulk says nervously.

Katrina chuckles as she holds her hand out. My name's Katrina. Katrina Striker."

Hulk looks at her tiny hand in contrast to his massive paw of a hand before lightly shaking it. " **Hulk**. **You probably already knew who I am**."

"Heh. Well, it still doesn't hurt to introduce yourself to a beautiful woman." Katrina says flirtatiously as she puts her hands on her slender hips.

" **R** - **Right**." Hulk stutters slightly as he eyes Katrina up and down. She certainly was beautiful...even for a human.

"Well, aren't you gonna invite me into your room?" Katrina asks, making it pretty obvious that she wanted to spend time with Hulk.

" **And why would I do that**?" Hulk asked, clearly not trusting her completely.

"Because I want to spend some time with you. It's not like I'm gonna try to kill you How could I, really?" She says in answer.

Hulk sighs before shrugging his shoulders and stepping aside so she can enter. " **Come on in**."

"Thank you." Katrina says sweetly as she looks around the room before sitting at the edge of the bed. "You know...there's been talk going around that you took a Needler to the chest and survived. How?"

" **I heal quickly**." Hulk simply states, noticing Katrina looking at his chest.

"No scars...Amazing. I wish I could do what you do. All I can do is...shoot stuff. Hehe." Katrina remarks with a giggle.

Hulk chuckles. " **I'm sure you shoot well enough**." He says as he sits next to her on the bed.


	5. New Sparring Partner

- **Bruce's Room** -

Hulk and Katrina continue to converse, though Katrina mostly pictures herself getting...romantic with Hulk. This went on for at least an hour until Hulk lays down and goes to sleep. As he does this, Katrina watches him sleep, casually rubbing her hand along his well toned, muscular body.

"The things I could do to you right now...but I want you to desire it, handsome..." Katrina whispers seductively, enjoying the feeling of her hand on Hulk's body as he slumbers.

* * *

- **The Next Day** -

Hulk wakes up, widening his eyes upon seeing Katrina laying next to him. As he slowly rises and stands up, Katrina grins as she slowly opens her eyes and looks at Hulk.

"Hey, handsome..." Katrina seductively says. "Sleep well?"

" **Ah**! **K-Katrina? Why are you in my bed**?!" Hulk asks as he looks at the stunning woman laying before him.

"I spent the night, silly. I have to say, your body is surprisingly soft, despite how many muscles you have." She teases with a smirk.

" **You are weird**..." Hulk retorts, to which Katrina giggles in response.

"Nope. Just looking for a good time, big boy. Now that I've met you...I've definitely found it!"

" **Katrina**..." Hulk begins to talk, only to be cut off.

"No, Hulk. For years, I had to deal with the pain of not being with someone. That someone left me...for no good reason. For years, I...felt like I died on the inside. Now that I met you...it's like that emptiness I've felt for so long has faded." Katrina says as she pours her heart out to the large behemoth.

" **I heard about you, Katrina. I'm sorry about**... **what happened to you**."

"Thank you. You know, you're pretty sentimental for...a walking tank." Katrina says with a light chuckle.

Hulk chuckles in response to this. " **Heh. Yet all I do is**... **punch stuff**."

Katrina giggles. "You do it so well." After saying this, she kisses him on the cheek and leaves his room, smiling as she heads to her own quarters.

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Training Arena**

Hulk walks into a large arena holding various weapons, including Gravity Hammers and Energy Swords. A Spartan with feminine features walks up to the weapons rack and grabs an assault rifle. As the figure shoots holographic targets, Hulk watches in amazement at the person's accuracy. As soon as the targets stop showing up, the figure looks at Hulk.

" **Who are you**...?" Hulk asks, thoroughly impressed by the newcomer's skill with a gun.

The figure answers by removing her helmet, revealing a beautiful woman with a beautiful face and long, flowing black hair. "Spartan B312, aka Noble Six. But you can call me Alexandria Noblesse.

" **I'll stick with just Alexandria**." Hulk says in reaction to her name.

Alexandria chuckles. "I can work with that. So...you're the creature that saved all those people, including one of our own. That's commendable."

" **I was just doing what I do best**... **smashing the bad guys**." Hulk says as he clenches his fist, remembering that Callista got hurt.

"Indeed. Well, I've heard how you easily killed a Brute Chieftain with your bare hands."

"It's too easy." Hulk boasts, feeling like nothing can challenge him.

"Oh? Than spar with me. Shouldn't be too hard to fight a girl..." She flirtatiously says as she stands in front of him.

Hulk rolls his eyes as he accepts the challenge. After walking to opposite sides of the room, the two charged at each other, swinging at each other like barbarians until Alexandria performed a flip kick that knocked Hulk on his back. Before he could recover, Alexandria pinned him, smiling playfully.

"Seems I'm the better fighter, Hulk. You give up?" She asks, clearly letting her minor victory go to her head.

" **You think this is beating me**? **I've fought humans with better moves than that**." Hulk retorts as he gets his hand free and throws Alexandria off of him. She recovers from the throw as the two exchange punches with each other, noticing that Hulk is holding back.

"You're holding back, green. That's gonna cost you the match. Holding back weakens the impact of your attacks." Alexandria says as she stops one of his punches with both hands. "But it also shows weakness." She finishes as she flips Hulk over her shoulder, knocking him down again, shaking the ship with the impact.

" **Whatever you say, zen master**." Hulk groans as Alexandria waits for him to get up. Before she can react, he backhands her across the room and traps her in a bear hug, the sounds of bones buckling under the pressure being very audible.

"Ahhhhh! Ow! Stop!" Alexandria screams as she kicks her legs helplessly. She was trapped.

" **Give up**?" Hulk asks with a grin. After two more minutes, Alexandria finally surrenders, to which Hulk releases her.

"Wow...you're strong..." She says with a low groan. A man's voice booms over the intercom.

" _Spartan-B312_... _get some rest_." The voice says. Alexandria nods as she leaves the arena, leaving Hulk alone. In the viewing platform of the arena, a tall man in Spartan armor stands as a blue hologram of a woman appears next to him.

"He seems to be very strong, Chief. We could use him." The holographic woman says.

"Maybe. But he could've killed Noble Six if he wasn't careful. We should keep an eye on him..."

* * *

- **Bruce's Room** -

Hulk heads back to his room to take a nap, secretly wishing for the next person to visit him to be Callista, though he couldn't get Alexandria off his mind. Even though he just met her, he was amazed by how attractive she was. He still had feelings for Callista, but there was something about Alexandria that was driving him crazy.

" **Ohhh**... **Callista. Get better soon. I miss you**." Hulk said softly. He missed Callista. Her face. Her voice. Her touch. Everything that made her so amazing to him.


	6. The Fight Of The Century

- **Med Bay** -

Callista lays in her medical bed, utterly bored with herself. She missed Hulk like crazy, and was about to go insane when her doctor walked in.

"Good news, ma'am. You've healed completely, but you need to rest here for one more day before we let you go." The doctor says with a light smile as he looks at the beautiful Callista.

"Ugh!" She groans at the news of even more waiting as she sits up in the bed. "Seriously? I've been laying in the same bed for several days. My legs will get numb if I have to do this any longer."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you just have to deal with it. Try sleeping. Time flies faster when you sleep." The doctor says as he walks away, hearing Callista sigh in frustration as she lays back in the bed.

"This is such bullshit..." Callista mumbles to herself as she tries to follow the doctor's advice and closes her eyes.

* * *

- **Bruce's Room** -

Hulk wakes up from his nap, stretching his arms as he sits up in his bed and decides to take a shower. Conveniently, his shower is big enough for his massive body to fit in as the warm water streamed down his body. A few minutes later, Hulk exits the shower. He hollers in shock, as Katrina was sitting on his bed, legs crossed and smiling.

" **Katrina?! What the hell?!** " Hulk exclaims as he covers himself up with a large robe.

She giggles at his over the top reaction. "You really thought I wouldn't visit you again? You silly giant. I'm Katrina Striker. I'm the type of woman every man and every other woman fantasizes about." She says as she seductively walks towards him. "And I want you. God, do I want you..." She says as she rubs her hands along Hulk's body.

Hulk grabs her wrists and pushes her back a little, creating a gap between them. " **Katrina**... **you are very pretty**. **But I'm not interested**."

Katrina feels terrible and looks at him. "Why?"

Hulk sighs. " **Because**... **I'm already interested in someone**... **and it isn't you. I'm sorry, Katrina**."

"You know, after I met you...I thought you'd be the one to love me forever. Guess I was wrong." Katrina says as she storms out of the room.

After she left, Hulk feels bad for hurting her feelings as he looks out the window.

* * *

- **Katrina's Room** -

Katrina enters her room and starts to cry, feeling pain over being rejected by Hulk. She lays down and cries herself to sleep. She felt utterly humiliated, thinking she could seduce Hulk into loving her, only to fail.

* * *

- **The Next Day** -

 **Med Bay**

Callista wakes up and immediately smiles, happy to remember she'd be released from her medical bed. There were no words she could come up with to describe her excitement for being able to leave as her doctor walked over.

"Good news. In a few minutes, we'll remove your I.V. and you'll be good to go." He says as he looks at Callista's medical chart.

Callista can only smile at this news that she's been waiting to hear. "Great. No offense, but I'm sick of laying her for almost a week."

The doctor nods with a chuckle. "None taken. You're not the only patient to say something like that."

Callista giggles. "Well, I prefer to be up and about over being forced to lay in a bed against my will."

The doctor chuckles again at Callista's quip. "I hear you."

* * *

- **Katrina's Room** -

Katrina wakes up, having finally stopped crying as she gets dressed. As her door opens, a girl stands in the way.

"Katrina." The girl says blankly as she looks at Katrina, who widens her eyes in shock.

"Sandra." Katrina says. "What the hell are you doing here?" She asks rudely.

"I want to talk." Sandra says as she cups her hands together.

"You've had over three goddamn decades to talk. Why now? You get tired of screwing that skank?" Katrina asks bitterly.

"Katrina-" Sandra tries to speak only to be interrupted by Katrina.

"No, Sandra. I can't talk to you. I can't even bear to look at you after what you did. You remember what you said? When we started dating?"

"I said I'd love you forever." Sandra looks down in shame as she says this.

"Yeah. And what do you do? You cheat on me with some girl you don't even know the name of!"

"Katrina, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Okay? It kills me...everyday since, it has killed me. I hurt you, it was a bitch move, and I'm sorry! If I could take it back, I would..." Sandra tearfully says. "Me and that girl...it was one night. She was nothing compared to you, and I dumped her the next day. I screwed up. I only came here to straighten things out between us."

"Well, that doesn't make me forget all those years of pain." Katrina coldly says as she turns her back to Sandra. "Get the hell away from me...and don't come back."

Tears fill up in Sandra's eyes as she leaves Katrina alone.

* * *

- **Bruce's Room** -

As Hulk looks out the window into the vast emptiness of space, he hears a knock on the door. Before he could reply, the tall man in Spartan armor entered.

" **What do you want**?" Hulk asks the strange man, who stands up straight with his arms down to his sides.

"My name is John 117, also known as Master Chief. I've been watching you. I saw you sparring with Noble 6. You can hold your own in a fist fight...but you could use a bit more skill."

" **More skill? I beat her, didn't I?** " Hulk asked, slightly insulted by Master Chief's words.

"Yes, you did. But your lack of skill allowed her to easily overpower you several times in the fight. With the proper skill, you could've beaten her without her being able to land a single blow on you." Master Chief says as he sits on Hulk's bed.

" **So you're**... **suggesting I train?** " Hulk asks, feeling unsure about the idea of improving his skills as a brawler. He was never much of a learner when he was an Avenger.

"Yes, Hulk. That way, the next time you engage in a fistfight, you'll be ready." Master Chief says as he stands up and heads for the door. "Training arena. Ten minutes. See if you're strong enough to beat me." He says before leaving, the door shutting behind him as he departs.

Hulk scoffs at the idea of losing a fight with Master Chief. " **I can beat him. I beat Alexandria with no problem**."

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Training Arena**

Hulk walks into the training arena, where Master Chief was waiting, assault rifle in hand. Hulk grins as he approaches the weapons rack and grabs a Gravity Hammer. In the viewing platform, the ODST's as well as Katrina gather along with several marines to watch the fight.

"Oh, shit. Hulk is fighting the Chief. Thirty bucks says Hulk wins." Dutch says with a chuckle.

"I'll take that bet." O'Brian says, also chuckling.

Katrina rolls her eyes. She still felt somewhat angry at Hulk for rejecting her, so she decided to bet against him, much to the shock of the ODST's.

Hulk roars as he charges towards Master Chief, raising the Gravity Hammer over his head and slamming it down, but Master Chief flips out of the way and fires his assault rifle at Hulk, though the bullets don't do much except annoy him.

" _Chief, his body composition is too dense; your bullets will not cause him any harm. I suggest a different tactic_." Cortana says through his comm unit.

" **Stop doing that!** " Hulk yells out as he swings the Gravity Hammer to the left, though Chief simply ducks under it and counters with a powerful kick to his jaw, making Hulk stagger back from the surprisingly powerful attack. " **You hit hard. I'm gonna enjoy this.** " He says as he swings his large weapon to the right, but Chief jumps over it and slams both of his arms on the top of Hulk's head.

"Like I said, improve your skills." Master Chief retorts as he performs a series of hard gut punches to Hulk's stomach. Like the kick to his jaw, they were surprisingly hard and precise.

Hulk's eyes glow a brighter shade of green, clearly frustrated that he was getting beaten by a smaller opponent.

" _Chief, my scans show Hulk's strength output has increased. He has more strength than you can handle_." Cortana says in horror.

"Than I better take him down before he gets even stronger." As Master Chief was about to deliver another punch aimed for his jaw, Hulk catches his fist, grinning. " **My turn**." He says before punching Chief across the room. He then grabs Chief by the leg and repeatedly slams him into the ground before throwing him across the room again.

The ODST's and Katrina wince at the painful looking attack that Hulk just performed on his Spartan opponent. "Ouch..." Katrina softly says.

Master Chief struggles to stand, only for Hulk to grab him again and lift him up by the throat.

" **Looks like I don't need training to beat you.** " Hulk gloats as he punches him in the gut before slamming him on the ground _hard_. " **I win**." He tiredly says as he exits the arena, leaving Master Chief coughing hard as he lay on the cold floor. The ODST's applaud as they pay up for the bet, while Katrina begrudgingly does the same, as she wanted Chief to win.

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Bruce's Room**

Hulk returns to his room to rest, unaware that Callista was on her way to his room. Callista stood in front of the door, unaware that Katrina was watching behind a corner of the hall, clenching her fist with anger. It was bad enough that Hulk rejected her. Now she knew who won Hulk's heart over her.

As Hulk lays on his bed, a few minutes pass before hearing a knock on his door. As he sits up, the door opens to reveal Callista, who was smiling widely with joy and eternal glee.

" **Callista**..." Hulk softly says, beyond happy to see her again after being seperated from her for so long. The two smile as she practically leaps into Hulk's arms, hugging him tightly.

"Oh...I missed you so much..." Callista says into Hulk's neck as she refuses to let him go.

" **I missed you too.** " Hulk says back at her as he holds her. He missed her like crazy, and wanted to make every moment that he was with her count.

Reluctantly, Callista pulls away from the hug and looks up at him. "I never want to be kept separate from you again."

" **Me neither. It's been boring not getting visits from you**." Hulk says with a grin.

Callista blushes, feeling like that was a flirt. "Hulk..."

" **What is it?** " He asks softly.

"Nothing. Just a thought. Besides...I'm back now. And I just want you all to myself." She says as she lays down with him on his comfortable bed and cuddles with him.

" **You won't get a complaint from me**." Hulk says, receiving a giggle from the gorgeous woman laying with him.

* * *

- **Author's Note** -

 **I can update the fight to be longer if you want.**


	7. Round Two For The Covenant

- **Hulk's Room** -

Hulk and Callista continue to cuddle, never wanting to leave each other's side ever again. As Callista finally falls asleep, Hulk smiles and gently strokes her hair, beyond happy to be close to his dearly beloved friend again.

* * *

- **Earth-616** -

 **Avengers Tower**

Captain America, Iron Man, Sentry, and the Fantastic Four work together to build a machine that they hope will open a portal to where Hulk went.

"You sure this will lead us to where Hulk was taken, Reed?" Iron Man asks.

"You can never be sure with interdimensional portals, Tony. It's not like playing with a chemistry set." Mr Fantastic says as he types in coordinates as the portal reopens opens above the heroes. The pull of the portal was stronger than they could've anticipated, as all the heroes were sucked in as the portal dissipates.

* * *

- **Elysium City** -

The heroes land in a busy city sidewalk, dozens of humans walking by, gasping in shock and surprise at the heroes, more particular at the Thing.

"Reed...where did those coordinates take us?" Iron Man asks as more people stare at the new arrivals.

"No clue, Tony." Mr. Fantastic says before stopping a passing man. "Excuse me. What is this place?"

"Elysium City, stranger." The man says in confirmation as he resumes walking down the sidewalk.

"Elysium City." Reed repeats as he walks over to his friends. "You think the Hulk is here somewhere?" They all shrug in response, unsure if he is.

After this, a large Covenant armada hovers high above the city and begins firing upon the city...

* * *

- **Destroyer** -

 **Mess Hall**

Hulk and Callista are eating at their table, along with the ODST's. The whole time, Hulk refuses to let Callista leave his side, not even for a split second.

"Hulk..." Callista playfully whines as he pulls her to him when she tries to get up.

" **Callista**..." He retorts with a teasing grin.

O'Brian takes notice and chuckles. "Geez, why don't you two just kiss already and get it over with?"

Both Hulk and Callista blush in response to his question, though Hulk blushes harder than she does. "O'Brian..." Callista blushes in embarrassment.

"What? I mean, it's pretty obvious that you two really like each other. Only makes sense for things to, uh...escalate, so to speak."

Hulk blushes, his face a bright shade of red. " **Geez**..." He mumbles.

"Hmmm..." Callista teases, looking at Hulk with a seductive look. "He has a point, Hulk. Why don't you kiss me?" She asks, making Hulk even more nervous.

" **Uh**... **uh**..." Hulk stutters, no doubt making the others want to laugh, especially Callista, since she always enjoyed teasing Hulk. " **Okay**..." He says, deciding to finally kiss her.

Callista silently squeals to herself in excitement as she slowly moves her lips towards Hulk's, only for an alarm to rudely interrupt the moment.

" _Attention all troops. Elysium City is under Covenant attack. Repeat, Elysium City is under Covenant attack! Gear up and head to the Pelican Bay immediately_!" The commanding officer shouts urgently over the loudspeaker.

" **Ugh! The Covenant again**?" Hulk groans. " **Guess they want to get beat up again**..."

"Bad idea on their part. They have no idea who they're up against." Dutch says as he stands up.

Callista nods as she stands up, followed by Hulk as they all head for the hangar.

* * *

- **Hangar** -

Hulk, Callista, the ODST's, and the marines enter the hangar, filling up several Pelican drop ships as the Destroyer flies over Earth. As the Pelicans fly towards the battle, Hulk and Callista hold hands.

" **Callista**?" Hulk asks.

"Yes?" She asks back, looking at him.

" **Just...be careful**." He says, not wanting her to get hospitalized again. Callista nods in response to his request.

* * *

- **Elysium City** -

People scream and run for cover as several Banshee gunships fly down from the large Covenant fleet ships as the pilots of the smaller aircraft fire their weapons.

"Sentry! Focus on those aircraft! Take down as many as you can! Stark, you're air support. If any try to get a shot off on Sentry, knock them out of the air. Reed, you and your team get these civilians somewhere safe. I'll stay here in case some infantry show up." Captain America orders out, to which the other heroes nod as they get to work, doing the tasks they were assigned. Sentry flies upwards and fires long, precise bolts of electrical energy, destroying several Banshees, along with their pilots, and punching others out of the sky if they get too close to him.

Cap uses his shield to defend himself from numerous laser blasts that the Banshees fired, entering an abandoned building that the Fantastic Four and a large number of civilians were using as cover from the attacking Covenant forces.

"Cap, there's too many of them!" Mr. Fantastic shouts into his earpiece.

Cap nods to himself. "I know, I know! We're gonna need a miracle..."

Right on cue, the Pelican dropship holding Hulk, Callista and the ODST's enters the fray, taking fire as Hulk unbuckles himself and walks towards the door, ready to jump out.

"Hulk, be careful!" Callista shouts out to him, her voice filtered by her helmet's speaker.

" **Always am**." Hulk replies with a wink before cracking his knuckles and leaping out, conveniently landing on a passing Banshee, punching into it and causing to crash, stopping right in front of Cap.

"Hulk?" Captain America asks upon realizing that his longtime friend is standing before him.

" **Cap? What are you dong here**?" Hulk asks, wondering why he's here, unaware of the other heroes.

"We came to get you." Cap says, directing Hulk's attention to the building the Fantastic Four and the civilians were taking cover in. The UNSC soldiers as well as Callista and the ODST's exit their Pelicans and begin firing at several waves of Elites, who managed to land away from the heroes and begin firing at the UNSC troops, killing several of them in an instant.

" **This is gonna be fun**..." Hulk says to himself as he watches Callista mow down several more Elites with her assault rifle. He then lunges into a large group of Grunts and Jackals, punching and slamming them into oblivion. As he's doing this, Callista sneaks a peek at his handiwork, smiling to herself before resuming to gun down more Covenant.

* * *

- **Later** -

Hours pass as a small number of the Covenant retreat, outnumbered and outpowered by the UNSC and their super powered allies. However, a large number of civilians and UNSC troops also lay on the ground, dead. The survivors quickly mourned their passing, as Cap, Sentry, and the Fantastic Four enter the same Pelican that Hulk and the ODST's used.

* * *

- **Elsewhere** -

 **Covenant Flagship**

As the Covenant relax, a cloaked figure teleports onto the ship.

"Hello, alien invaders." The hooded figure says, his face obscured by shadows.

"Who are you, swine? You have no business on our ship!" A Covenant prophet shouts angrily.

"It has come to my attention...that a green monster has become a problem." The figure says as he slowly approaches the prophet.

The prophet's eyes widen. "H-How do you know about that?"

"Let's just say we share a common enemy. We should unite our resources to destroy him...for I am Dr. Doom, the greatest mind on Earth!" The hooded figure says as he steps into the light, his face covered by a grey metal mask.

"We do not barter with humans...but it seems we have no alternative..." The prophet says, realizing that Dr. Doom might be the Covenant's best and _only_ chance at defeating Hulk and the UNSC.

* * *

- **Destroyer** -

 **Mess Hall**

Upon safely returning, the newly arrived heroes sit with Hulk, Callista, and the Helljumpers at their table.

"So how'd you guys get here?" Dutch asks, trying his hardest not to stare at the Thing.

"We, uh, duplicated the energy signature the portal gave off when Hulk was sent to this dimension." Mr. Fantastic says as he eats a cheeseburger.

"We came to take you home." The Invisible Woman says, to which Callista wraps her arms around Hulk's own massive arm.

"No. He's not going." Callista childishly says.

The Human Torch smirks, realizing the obvious connection Callista had with Hulk. "Hulk, you dog. Looks like somebody's been a busy gamma charged bee."

"Shut up, Torch." The Thing says as he chows down on a large sandwich.

O'Brian looks at Sentry and pieces together who he is. "Wait a minute...You're the Sentry, that guy that Hulk fought!" He exclaims, making the other Helljumpers focus their attention on Sentry.

"Yes. I am." Sentry says admittedly. "I might've lost...but I came the closest to beating him, so that's got to count for something."

"Onto more urgent matters..." Mr. Fantastic intercedes. "Hulk, it's about Dr. Doom. Thise aliens we fought...he's on their side...We saw him enter one of their ships as they retreated."


	8. Battle Plans

As the heroes and UNSC members converse over lunch, Hulk and Callista can't stop looking at one another, so they excuse themselves from the group and decide to head to Hulk's room so they can have some alone time.

* * *

- **Hulk's Room** -

Callista sits on the edge of Hulk's bed and pats an empty space next to her, signaling the gamma goliath to sit with her. Hulk smiles as he slowly sits next to her. "So..." Callista says, breaking the awkward silence.

" **Hmm**?" Hulk grunts as she speaks up.

"Uh, heh. I'm just, uh, trying to think of something to say." Callista says nervously.

" **Hmm**... **how about**... **glad I didn't get hurt again**?" Hulk remarks, referring to the time Callista had to be hospitalized for several days.

"Hey, that Covenant caught me by surprise; that isn't fair." Callista childishly whines.

" **Ha**! **Thought you were tough**..." Hulk playfully taunts as he lightly nudges her arm.

"I am tough. Plus, you're the one that can kill an entire army with your bare hands!" She says back at him.

" **Ha**. **Good point**." Hulk says with a light chuckle.

* * *

- **Mess Hall** -

As Hulk and Callista continue to chat in privacy, the Fantastic Four and Sentry continue to chat with Master Chief, Noble Six, and the ODST's. "So this Doom...he's some kind of tyrant?" O'Brian asks.

"No, what he is is some mommy's boy that wants to prove how 'smart' he is." The Thing says as he air quotes.

"Ben, that might be true, but Victor still has access to dangerous technological advances." Mr. Fantastic says as he crosses his arms.

"Plus, he's now allied with the Covenant. After seeing all they advancements they have, Victor will have an army on his side. An army with dangerous weapons that make ours look like confetti cannons." Invisible Woman says warily.

"Oh, come on, sis. We got Hulk on our side. Not to mention the Sentry. Doom ain't got nothing on us." Human Torch says boastfully, confidant that they'll win, since they have the Hulk and Sentry on their side of the conflict.

"I'm with the walking flamethrower on this. This Doom guy...he's fighting a losing war. Sure, he might get the whole Covenant to fight for him...but we have Hulk. The big guy killed waves of Covenant by himself, and with nothing but his fists." Dutch says proudly as the aforementioned hero and the lovely Callista walk back into the mess hall.

"Hulk. Glad you're here. We could use your help with something." Mr. Fantastic says.

" **With what**?" Hulk asks.

"Mr. Genius here is worried that we're gonna get killed when we face off against Doom." O'Brian says with a cocky grin. "Personally, I think we got this in the bag."

"Not when Doom has an entire army of murderous extraterrestrials on his side." Mr. Fantastic interjects. "We have to be smart, strategize."

" **A battle plan**. **Not really my style**." Hulk says lowly as he crosses his arms.

"Oh? Then what is your style, Big Green?" Human Torch asks with a smile, knowing what Hulk would say in response.

" **Smash everything in sight** , **ask questions never**." Hulk says with a grin as he cracks his knuckles.

Callista giggles as she pats Hulk on the shoulder. "There's the smash machine I care about so much."

" _Anyway_." Mr. Fantastic says, interrupting the banter. "Maybe we should start to plan a battle strategy?"

" **Urgh**. **Fine**." Hulk groans as he sits down, joined by Callista, who sits beside him.

"I suggest we lure Doom and the Covenant to a large planet with minimally populated areas and plenty of strategic placements for troops. Hulk, you and Callista will find a place far from the initial battlefield so Callista can use a sniper rifle to pick off Covenant troops from a safe distance, diminishing their chances of beating us while me, Noble Six, the Helljumpers, a group of UNSC troops and the other heroes fight on the forefront." Master Chief says.

" **So you want _me_ out of the fight**? **Sounds dumb**." Hulk says, not happy about being left out.

"No. Your job is to protect Callista in case the Covenant locate her sniping position. There's nobody that she'll be safer with than you, Hulk." Master Chief says.

" **Grr**..." Hulk growls in frustration before sighing. " **Fine**." Even though Hulk wanted in on the main event, a small part of him knew Master Chief made the right call in benching him. Plus, he was still feeling protective of Callista, so thatbwas a plus.

* * *

- **Outer Space** -

 **Covenant Fleet**

Dr. Doom stands in a large room aboard a Covenant attack ship, surrounded by several Elites. "Listen. I know of the green brute that has beaten you. I have encountered him many times on my planet. If we pool our resources together, we can destroy that monster and that militant group you and your people are at war with!"

"We know your kind, human. Why should we aid you?" A Covenant Prophet asks, not really interested in providing Doom with any of his people's resources.

"I can provide you with advanced technology of my own. Technology that, combined with your own, would make you the most powerful force in the galaxy." Doom says, grinning behind his iron mask.

After much consideration, the Prophet nods. "Fine. Show us your methods to defeat our new enemies."

Doom nods as he displays some of the technological advancements he possesses, which impresses some of the Covenant, as they thought Doom was just another foolish human.

* * *

- **Destroyer** -

 **Conference Room**

Now with a plan in motion, Master Chief, Noble Six, Callista, and the heroes head to the Conference Room as the commanding officer lays out the plan to the UNSC. "Listen up. Chief has organized an attack plan to draw out the Covenant and their new human collaborator, Dr. Doom. You will head down to a dense jungle planet, which has no intelligent life on it whatsoever aside from various animal life. Hulk and Callista will provide sniper cover while the rest of you will fight the main Covenant attackers on the ground. Under no circumstances are you to fail or retreat. The top priority...is detaining Doom. As for the Covenant...blow them all to hell."

Hulk grunts and nods at the order as the majority of the people in the room depart, though Callista, the Fantastic Four, Sentry and Chief as well as himself stay behind. " **This'll be fun**..." He mumbles as the commanding officer walks over to them.

"I hope this plan of yours works, Chief. Otherwise, a lot of good men will die." The commanding officer says.

"Trust me, sir. It'll work." Master Chief says, his face covered by his helmet.

* * *

- **Later** -

 **Hulk's Room**

Hulk goes to his room and looks out the window, contemplating who might die in the upcoming battle when the hydraulic door slides open. He turns around, seeing Callista standing in the doorway, wearing a grey sleeveless shirt and some shorts. Callista smiles as she enters the room. " **Callista**." Hulk says as he continues to look at the beautiful woman.

"Hey, big guy." Callista says as she approaches him, standing only a few feet away from the gamma goliath.

" **Uh** , **what are you doing here**?" Hulk asks as he looks at her.

"I'm...I'm scared, Hulk. I'm scared that when we go into battle that...that you'll die." Callista says as she hugs him, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.

" **Pfft**. **I'm not gonna die**. **I'm the strongest one there is**." Hulk says as he slowly holds her.

Callista knew Hulk was _very_ powerful, but the Covenant was a very powerful as well, as they had access to dangerous weaponry and technology. "You don't know that, Hulk. I can't bear the thought of losing you. You're my best friend..." Callista says as she starts to cry, wanting nothing more than to tell him how she _really_ felt about him...that she loved him.

Hulk sighs as he carries her to his bed. " **Want to spend the night here**?" He asks, knowing she'd say yes, judging by how many times she has slept in his room before this point.

She nods her head as she wipes the tears from her cheeks. "Y-Yes." She sniffles.

Hulk smiles as he lays down, followed by Callista, who lays beside him, still fearing for his life, but she was happy to be with him, even if she thought it was going to be the last time...


End file.
